Agriculture: Genetically Modified Crops

The Countess of Mar: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the conclusion of the American Academy of Environmental Medicine in its 2009 report that "there is more than a casual association between GM foods and adverse health effects. There is causation as defined by Hill's Criteria in the areas of strength of association, consistency, specificity, biological gradient and biological plausibility".

Baroness Thornton: The American Academy of Environmental Medicine published a position paper on genetically modified foods in May 2009 and its conclusion is reported to be based on six peer-reviewed publications. Five of these have been considered by the Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes and other regulatory bodies such as the European Food Safety Authority, which have advised that they do not provide evidence of harm following the consumption of genetically modified foods. The sixth paper concludes that an insecticide that is widely used in commercial genetically modified crops had no adverse effects on the immune system of rats.

Agriculture: Genetically Modified Crops

The Countess of Mar: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to ensure that all of the science contained in approval dossiers for genetically modified crops and food can be replicated and improved by independent scientists; and what steps they have taken to ensure that independent scientists who have discovered harmful effects in animals that have consumed genetically modified materials are not intimidated.

Lord Davies of Oldham: There is strong public interest in the publication of high-quality research into genetically modified (GM) crops and food. The availability of authentic test materials and corresponding control materials are among the prerequisites for such research to take place. Companies may choose to impose conditions on the use of their GM seeds, but we believe it is in their interests to allow the scientific community to conduct independent research into these products. The relevant EU legislation already provides for all of the information contained in applications to market GM food or feed products to be made publicly available, where it relates to the potential effects on human health, animal health and the environment.
	The Government support open publication of scientific data as it allows interested parties to review the findings and the conclusions that have been drawn by the researchers. Researchers claiming to demonstrate the presence or absence of risks with GM products should be equally able to publish and discuss their results without fear of intimidation.

Banks: Lending

Lord Dykes: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they expect the recent upturn in financial markets to lead to increases in lending to companies by those banks in which they have a stake.

Lord Myners: Analysis of past recessions and financial crises in other countries by the Bank of England in its July 2009 financial stability report suggests that bank lending typically remains weak in the early stages of recovery.
	Net lending to businesses in the UK declined in 2009 in percentage terms at a similar rate to the 1990s recession. Similar trends have also been seen in the US, the euro area and Japan. The subdued level of lending over the past year reflects a number of factors. These include:
	a reappraisal of risk by lenders, investors and borrowers following the crisis;uncertainty about the prospects for the economy;financial institutions restructuring to deliver higher capital levels and more conservative loan exposures;larger businesses turning to reviving corporate bond and equity markets as an alternative source of external finance; andbusinesses restructuring and paying off debt during the recession.
	Over the last year, both RBS and Lloyds have made substantial amounts of lending available to borrowers. The Government expect both banks to continue to meet demand for lending from creditworthy households and businesses.

Bookkeepers

Lord Marlesford: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many bookkeepers have registered with Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs or accountancy service providers under the Money Laundering Regulations 2007 (SI 2007/2157); and what was the total value of registration fees received from bookkeepers in the last year.

Lord Myners: The total number of accountancy service providers registered with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) at 31 January 2010 was 12,409.
	The total value of fees received from accountancy service providers for the year to 31 January 2010 was £1,519,560.
	Under the Money Laundering Regulations 2007, HMRC maintains a register of auditors, external accountants and tax advisers who are not supervised by one of the professional bodies listed in Schedule 3 to the regulations. These businesses are referred to collectively as accountancy service providers. An external accountant is a firm or sole practitioner who by way of business provides accountancy services to other persons. The service provided by a bookkeeper comes within the definition of external accountants. HMRC does not maintain a separate list of businesses that only provide bookkeeping services.

Bookkeepers

Lord Marlesford: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether there is a de minimis exemption for bookkeepers from registering with Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs under the Money Laundering Regulations 2007 (SI 2007/2157); and how many bookkeepers have been subjected to penalties from HM Revenue and Customs for failing to register.

Lord Myners: There is not a de minimis exemption for bookkeepers from registering with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) under the Money Laundering Regulations 2007.
	Two accountancy service providers have been subject to penalties from HMRC for failing to register.

Bookkeepers

Lord Marlesford: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether bookkeepers registered with Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs under the Money Laundering Regulations 2007 (SI 2007/2157) are required to report under the Suspicious Activities Reports Regime to the Serious Organised Crime Agency.

Lord Myners: Under Part 7 of the Proceeds of Crime Act and Part 3 of the Terrorism Act, bookkeepers registered with HM Revenue and Customs under the Money Laundering Regulations 2007 are required to make a suspicious activity report to the Serious Organised Crime Agency in circumstances where they know or suspect, or have reasonable grounds for knowing or suspecting, that another person is engaged in money-laundering or terrorist financing, where the information came to them in the course of their business.

British Indian Ocean Territory

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to extend the British Indian Ocean Territory territorial sea from three nautical miles to 12 nautical miles, in accordance with Article 3 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead: The British Indian Ocean Territory territorial sea stands at three nautical miles. There are no current plans to extend this limit.

British Indian Ocean Territory

Lord Ramsbotham: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assurances they have received or requested from the Government of the United States that they would not conduct military operations within the British Indian Ocean Territory Exclusive Economic Zone which may be incompatible with the proposed marine protected area.

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead: Given our treaty obligations, neither we nor the US would want the creation of a marine protected area (MPA) to have any impact on the operational capability of the base. For that reason, as has been set out in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office public consultation document, it may be necessary to consider the exclusion of Diego Garcia and its three-mile territorial waters from any MPA.
	It has not, however, yet been decided whether an MPA should be established and, if so, what form it should take. A decision will be taken once the public consultation (10/11/09-05/03/10) is over, the report on all responses has been written by the facilitator, and the way ahead decided upon by Ministers after consideration of the report.

Buying Solutions

Lord Oakeshott of Seagrove Bay: To ask Her Majesty's Government how much was paid by HM Treasury and its agencies to (a) PricewaterhouseCoopers, (b) KPMG, (c) Deloitte, (d) Ernst and Young, (e) Grant Thornton, (f) BDO Stoy Hayward, (g) Baker Tilly, (h) Smith and Williamson, (i) Tenon Group, (j) PKF, (k) McKinsey and Company, and (l) Accenture, in each of the past five years for which information is available; how they monitor contracts with those firms; and how the department reports (1) during, and (2) at the end of contracts, to Buying Solutions.

Lord Myners: An appropriate contract management strategy is adopted for all professional service contracts. Actions include reviewing the contractors' performance against the contract and assessing whether or not the objectives of the assignment have been met. Fees and expenses are regularly checked and where possible payments are linked to key deliverables or milestones. Post-assignment reviews are undertaken on completion of the contract, where appropriate, to assess the performance of the contractor and identify lessons learnt.
	Departments are not required to report spend data to Buying Solutions. Information on payments to the firms listed is shown in the following table. The increases shown from 2007-08 onwards are as a direct result of the necessary financial stability measures introduced by the Government particularly in connection with the asset protection scheme and the appointment of the independent valuer for Northern Rock. This spending is recharged to the financial organisations concerned and there is therefore no net cost to the department.
	
		
			 Firm 2008-09 2007-08 2006-07 2005-06 2004-05 
			  £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 
			 PWC 5,260 2,347 356 308 231 
			 KPMG 1,678 250 273 456 71 
			 Deloitte 704 743 387 322 33 
			 E & Y 245 81 372 301 176 
			 Grant Thornton 159 - - - - 
			 BDO Stoy Hayward 2,257 - - - - 
			 PKF - - 132 98 97 
			 Accenture - 58 114 - -

Conflict Prevention Pool

Baroness Northover: To ask Her Majesty's Government in which countries and on which projects the resources transferred to (a) the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and (b) the Ministry of Defence, in respect of the Conflict Prevention Pool will be spent.

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead: My right honourable friend the Foreign Secretary's Written Ministerial Statement of 25 March 2009 set out specific funding priorities for the Government's tri-departmental conflict activity, in line with Public Service Agreement 30 (PSA 30). We remain focused on those countries and regions considered most at risk of instability.
	Activity funded through the conflict pool in 2009-10 supports tri-departmental strategies agreed by the Department for International Development, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and the Ministry of Defence (MoD). The attached table provides a list of FCO and MoD managed activities, by country. A Written Ministerial Statement on funding for 2010-11 will be issued this month.
	* NB List of projects is subject to change
	
		
			  Country Programme Accounting department-FCO, MoD, DfID 
			 1 Afghanistan Institutions Support & Mentoring FCO 
			 2 Afghanistan Eradication Support FCO 
			 3 Afghanistan SMTV FCO 
			 4 Afghanistan United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime FCO 
			 5 Afghanistan Info Ops FCO 
			 6 Afghanistan Counter Narcotics Police of Afghanistan FCO 
			 7 Afghanistan Combined Joint Task Force FCO 
			 8 Afghanistan Combined Security Transition Command FCO 
			 9 Afghanistan EU Policing FCO 
			 10 Afghanistan Prisons Training FCO 
			 11 Afghanistan NDS Prison Build FCO 
			 12 Afghanistan Support to Afghan International Human Rights Commission FCO 
			 13 Afghanistan National Reintegration Initiative FCO 
			 14 Afghanistan Reintegration Trust Fund Mechanism FCO 
			 15 Afghanistan Support to Governance in FRIC FCO 
			 16 Afghanistan Build Afghan Govt Capacity (Government Media and Information Centre) FCO 
			 17 Afghanistan Extend Afghan Media Content FCO 
			 18 Afghanistan Security Sector Strategy FCO 
			 19 Afghanistan Lease of Beechcraft & Running Costs FCO 
			 20 Afghanistan Support to National Directorate of Security FCO 
			 21 Afghanistan Elections Support FCO 
			 22 Afghanistan Political Outreach FCO 
			 23 Afghanistan Reconciliation FCO 
			 24 Afghanistan Governance Staff Costs FCO 
			 25 Afghanistan Support to Provincial Administration FCO 
			 26 Afghanistan Afghan Social Outreach Programme Community Councils FCO 
			 27 Afghanistan District Level Admin & Community Council Structures FCO 
			 28 Afghanistan Afghan-led District Stabilisation (DDWG) FCO 
			 29 Afghanistan Facilities to Support District Governors & Key Line Ministries FCO 
			 30 Afghanistan UNDP ELECT FCO 
			 31 Afghanistan Rule of Law Staff Costs FCO 
			 32 Afghanistan Rule of Law EU Policing Staff Costs FCO 
			 33 Afghanistan Ministry of Defence Police Staff Costs FCO 
			 34 Afghanistan Support to Afghan National Police FCO 
			 35 Afghanistan Support to Formal Justice System FCO 
			 36 Afghanistan Support to Informal Justice System FCO 
			 37 Afghanistan Lashkar Gah Prison Build FCO 
			 38 Afghanistan Bost Airfield Security Support FCO 
			 39 Afghanistan Law and Order Trust Fund in Afghanistan FCO 
			 40 Afghanistan Support to Embedded Partnering (DDP) FCO 
			 41 Afghanistan District Patrol Bases and Checkpoints FCO 
			 42 Afghanistan Counter Narcotic Staff Costs FCO 
			 43 Afghanistan Counter Narcotics EUPol Staff Costs FCO 
			 44 Afghanistan Capacity Building at Provincial Level FCO 
			 45 Afghanistan Promotion of Licit Livelihoods FCO 
			 46 Afghanistan Eradication FCO 
			 47 Afghanistan Strat Comms & Media Project FCO 
			 48 Afghanistan Radio Hewad FCO 
			 49 Afghanistan Support to Private Sector Development FCO 
			 50 Afghanistan Health System Support FCO 
			 51 Afghanistan Support to Education System FCO 
			 52 Afghanistan Infrastructure Staff Costs FCO 
			 53 Afghanistan Priority Infrastructure FCO 
			 54 Afghanistan Lashkar Gah District Stabilisation FCO 
			 55 Afghanistan Musa Qala District Stabilisation FCO 
			 56 Afghanistan Gareshk District Stabilisation FCO 
			 57 Afghanistan Sangin District Stabilisation FCO 
			 58 Afghanistan Garmsir District Stabilisation FCO 
			 59 Afghanistan N-e-A District Stabilisation FCO 
			 60 Afghanistan HABS & Programme Office Staff Costs FCO 
			 61 Afghanistan Civilianising the Afghan Ministry Of Defence MoD 
			 62 Afghanistan Afghanistan National Army Training & Education MoD 
			 63 Afghanistan Combined Arms School (CAS) MoD 
			 64 Afghanistan Afghanistan National Security Forces Language Training FCO 
			 65 Afghanistan Proxy Indicators of Security FCO 
			 66 Afghanistan HABS Commander's Stabilisation Fund MoD 
			 67 Af-Pak Evaluation - Pak-Afghan Cross-border Radio Training and Production FCO 
			 68 Af-Pak Three Annual Workshops on Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) for key international and Pakistani stakeholders FCO 
			 69 Af-Pak Local Level Dispute Resolution and Community Policing FCO 
			 70 Af-Pak Nation-wide Political Education and Mobilisation Programme FCO 
			 71 Af-Pak Balochistan Livelihood support programme FCO 
			 72 Af-Pak Livelihood support programme to Kuchi population FCO 
			 73 Af-Pak FATA Opinion Poll 2009 FCO 
			 74 Af-Pak Translation, Publication and Dissemination of FATA Research Study and Opinion Poll into 3 Languages FCO 
			 75 Af-Pak Channels of Change: Training local FM radio stations FCO 
			 76 Af-Pak Supporting Political Parties in reform strategies for FATA FCO 
			 77 Af-Pak Strengthening Human Resource in North West Frontier Province FCO 
			 78 Af-Pak Afghanistan/Iran/Pakistan transit security symposium FCO 
			 79 Af-Pak National Information and Operations Course 2008 FCO 
			 80 Af-Pak Security Development Plan 1: Start up costs for UK training team MoD 
			 81 Af-Pak Academic Support to the National Defence University FCO 
			 82 Af-Pak Citizens Archive of Pakistan Schools Outreach Programme FCO 
			 83 Af-Pak London Documentary Festival Exchange and Training FCO 
			 84 Af-Pak Assessing the economic cost of conflict FCO 
			 85 Af-Pak Improving Civil-Military relations through dialogue FCO 
			 86 Af-Pak Capacity Building of parliamentarians on conflict FCO 
			 87 Af-Pak Peacekeeping English Programme (drawdown) FCO 
			 88 Angola Peacekeeping English Programme (drawdown) MoD 
			 89 AU/UN PK/PB linkages study Policy Study MoD 
			 90 Azerbaijan Unbiased Media coverage of Armenia-Azerbaijan Relations FCO 
			 91 Azerbaijan/Armenia Young peacebuilders brigade FCO 
			 92 Balkans Regional Peace Support Operations Training Centre (PSOTC) MoD 
			 93 Bosnia Support for justice sector reform FCO 
			 94 Bosnia Ministry of Security FCO 
			 95 Bosnia Office of the High Representative secondment FCO 
			 96 Bosnia Secondment of two prosecutors to special dept for war crimes of prosecutor's office FCO 
			 97 Bosnia Supporting civil society engagement in justice sector FCO 
			 98 Bosnia State court outreach programme FCO 
			 99 Bosnia EU Force MoD 
			 100 Bosnia Democratically accountable Ministry Of Defence - overarching programme MoD 
			 101 Bosnia EU Police Mission FCO 
			 102 Botswana Botswana National Security Strategy Review (drawdown) MoD 
			 103 Botswana PEACEKEEPING MoD 
			 104 Brussels Strategic Secondments (EU) FCO 
			 105 CHAD PEACEKEEPING MoD 
			 106 Czech British Military Advisory Training Team (BMATT) MoD 
			 107 DRC Support to Conflict Prevention: Stabilisation in East (FCO) FCO 
			 108 DRC DRC Peace Support Operations Training FCO 
			 109 DRC DRC PEACEKEEPING MoD 
			 110 DRC Peace Support Operations Training MoD 
			 111 ECOWAS Support to Economic Community of Western African States (ECOWAS) capacity building (UK LO) (drawdown) MoD 
			 112 Ethiopia Security Sector Reform / Defence Transformation MoD 
			 113 Ethiopia PSO Training MoD 
			 114 Georgia International Alert - Georgia/Abkhaz advocacy: human security FCO 
			 115 Georgia EU Monitoring Mission - Georgia FCO 
			 116 Georgia Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) - Georgia FCO 
			 117 Georgia United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG) MoD 
			 118 Georgia Security Sector Reform, Peace Support Operations, Capacity Building, Maritime Security MoD 
			 119 Ghana Capacity Building and Regional Peace and Security (BMATT W Africa) MoD 
			 120 Ghana Capacity Building and Regional Conflict Prevention (Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre) MoD 
			 121 Ghana / Regional SSR, PSO, Maritime Security MoD 
			 122 Global Security Sector Defence Advisory Team (Thematic Global Outreach) MoD 
			 123 Global Security Sector Education MoD 
			 124 Guinea Bissau SSR FCO 
			 125 Indo-Pak Community Action Plan District Neelum FCO 
			 126 Indo-Pak Green Circle Organisation, Punjabi Farmers Exchange Visits FCO 
			 127 Indo-Pak Value Resources - Read Foundation Evaluation FCO 
			 128 Indo-Pak Conciliation Resources, Strengthening Civil Society Conflict Transformation Capacities FCO 
			 129 Indo-Pak Panos, Media and peace building in Kashmir FCO 
			 130 Indo-Pak BBC World Service Trust, Conversations for Change FCO 
			 131 Indo-Pak Charkha, Communities building bridges with communications FCO 
			 132 Indo-Pak Indo Pak Confidence Building: Track II Workshops FCO 
			 133 Indo-Pak Police reform in J&K : Scoping visit FCO 
			 134 Iraq CRIMINAL EVIDENCE AND INVESTIGATIONS - COFFEY FCO 
			 135 Iraq CRIMINAL EVIDENCE AND INVESTIGATIONS - SPECIAL LIBRARIES ASSOCIATION FCO 
			 136 Iraq COUNCIL OF REPRESENTATIVES CAPACITY BUILDING FCO 
			 137 Iraq FORENSIC AWARENESS TRAINING FCO 
			 138 Iraq European Union Integrated Rule of Law Mission for Iraq (EUJUSTLEX) FCO 
			 139 Iraq CONSENT WINNING MoD 
			 140 Iraq MILITARY ACADEMY TRAINING MoD 
			 141 Jerusalem International Peace and Cooperation Center EAST JERUSALEM FCO 
			 142 Jerusalem MERCY CORPS FCO 
			 143 Jerusalem EU Police Cooperation (EUPOL COPPS) FCO 
			 144 Jerusalem EU Border Assistance Mission (EUBAM) Rafah FCO 
			 145 Jerusalem Inspector General on HR FCO 
			 146 Jerusalem training senior PA advisors on stratcomms FCO 
			 147 Jerusalem US Security Coordinator British Support Team MoD 
			 148 Jerusalem Policing Consultant (total cost) MoD 
			 149 Jerusalem Military Liaison Officers MoD 
			 150 Jerusalem Dayton Policing Advisor MoD 
			 151 Kenya Police Reform Visit to UK FCO 
			 152 Kosovo European Union Rule of Law Mission (EULEX) FCO 
			 153 Kosovo International Civilian Office secondees FCO 
			 154 Kosovo Kosovo Property Agency FCO 
			 155 Kosovo Displaced persons FCO 
			 156 Kosovo European Centre for Minority Issues - community consultative council FCO 
			 157 Kosovo Life support costs for NATO Advisory Team Policy and Plans Adviser MoD 
			 158 Kosovo KFOR MoD 
			 159 Kosovo SSR MoD 
			 160 Kosovo Director NATO Advisory Team MoD 
			 161 Kyrgyzstan OSCE Secondees - Kyrgyzstan FCO 
			 162 Lebanon Lebanon Stabilisation Advisor FCO 
			 163 Lebanon Lebanese Armed Forces PUBLIC ORDER FCO 
			 164 Lebanon COMMON BORDER FORCE FCO 
			 165 Lebanon NATIONAL SECURITY ACADEMIC PROGRAMME FCO 
			 166 Lebanon United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon FCO 
			 167 Lebanon Lebanese Internal Security Forces FCO 
			 168 Lebanon Lebanese Palestinian Dialogue Committee (LPDC) HUMAN SECURITY FCO 
			 169 Lebanon LPDC STRAT COMMS FCO 
			 170 Lebanon International Foundation for Electoral Services ELECTORAL REFORM FCO 
			 171 Lebanon ELECTORAL CAMPAIGN FINANCE FCO 
			 172 Liberia Liaison Officer (drawdown) MoD 
			 173 Liberia PEACEKEEPING (drawdown) MoD 
			 174 Moldova European Union Border Assistance Mission - Moldova FCO 
			 175 Moldova OSCE Secondees - Moldova FCO 
			 176 Moldova Moldova Security Sector Reform MoD 
			 177 Mozambique Peacekeeping English Programme (drawdown) MoD 
			 178 N Cyprus United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) MoD 
			 179 Nagorno Karabakh The Resolution of Nagorno Karabakh issue: what do societies have to say? FCO 
			 180 Nagorno Karabakh Underpinning the NK conflict resolution process - Civil Society strand FCO 
			 181 Nagorno Karabakh Underpinning the NK conflict resolution process - Media strand FCO 
			 182 Nagorno Karabakh OSCE Secondees - Nagorno Karabakh FCO 
			 183 Nepal Support to Democratic Control of Armed Forces FCO 
			 184 Nepal Saferworld FCO 
			 185 Nepal Financial and technical support to Security Sector Reform FCO 
			 186 Nepal Managing Defence in the Wider Security Context course FCO 
			 187 Nepal Human Rights symposium FCO 
			 188 Nepal Security Forces Professionalisation FCO 
			 189 Nepal Explosive Ordnance Disposal training and equipment FCO 
			 190 Nepal Initiative to support United National Development Programme/Government of Nepal Constituent Assembly Support Project FCO 
			 191 Nepal Support to International Foundation for Electoral Systems FCO 
			 192 Nepal United National Development project FCO 
			 193 Nepal Support to International Court of Justice FCO 
			 194 Nepal Support to Office of the High Commission of Human Rights FCO 
			 195 Nepal Support to International Crisis Group FCO 
			 196 Nepal Carter Center FCO 
			 197 Nigeria Maritime Security Training Centre & Niger Delta Peacebuilding MoD 
			 198 Nigeria ECOWAS & PKW Jaji Stabilisation Support Training MoD 
			 199 Pan-Africa African Union (AU)- Support to AU political work FCO 
			 200 Pan-Africa AU - Support to development of African Standby Force FCO 
			 201 Pan-Africa AU - Support to building capacity of AU FCO 
			 202 Pan-Africa EU RECAMP MoD 
			 203 Regional Regional Conflict Advisers (3) FCO 
			 204 Regional Karamoja Cluster: Oxfam Cross-Border Mitigation (drawdown) FCO 
			 205 Regional British Peace Support Team for East Africa MoD 
			 206 Regional Regional Peace Support Office to East African Brigade MoD 
			 207 Russia Dialogue in Risk Zone FCO 
			 208 Russia Stichting Russia Justice Initiative FCO 
			 209 Russia Furthering democratic capacity in North Caucasus FCO 
			 210 Russia Human Rights in Chechnya FCO 
			 211 Russia Youth leadership and peacebuilding network FCO 
			 212 Russia Disabled Youth FCO 
			 213 Russia Caucasian Knot - Civil journalism to civil activism FCO 
			 214 Russia Enhancing the role of civil society in conflict resolution in the North Caucasus FCO 
			 215 Russia Stabilizing North Caucasus: conflict prevention mechanism FCO 
			 216 Russia Law enforcement institutions and society as a tool for peace and stability in NC FCO 
			 217 Rwanda DRC / Rwanda border security on Lake Kivu MoD 
			 218 Senegal Armed Forces Professionalisation and Peace Support Office Capacity Building (drawdown) MoD 
			 219 Serbia Support to Sandzak training facility Novi Pazar FCO 
			 220 Serbia South Serbia inclusion support FCO 
			 221 Serbia Building public awareness in multiethnic areas as Conflict Prevention tool FCO 
			 222 Serbia Conflict prevention and interethnic integration-south Serbia and Sandzak FCO 
			 223 Serbia Kosovo from another side FCO 
			 224 Serbia Kosovo memory book FCO 
			 225 Serbia Serbia: Security Sector Reform and Democratically Accountable Armed Forces MoD 
			 226 Sierra Leone SPECIAL COURT FCO 
			 227 Sierra Leone Strategic Support to the Sierra Leone Security Sector MoD 
			 228 Somalia PEACEKEEPING FCO and MoD 
			 229 Somalia Somaliland Peacebuilding Activities MoD 
			 230 Somalia Puntland conflict assessment and analysis MoD 
			 231 Somalia SOMALIA PEACEKEEPING FCO and MoD 
			 232 South Africa British Peace Support Team South Africa FCO and MoD 
			 233 South Caucasus Regional Conflict Adviser South Caucasus FCO 
			 234 South Caucasus Building bridges/capacity in the South Caucasus FCO 
			 235 South Caucasus International Alert - economy and conflict in the South Caucasus FCO 
			 236 South Caucasus EU Special Representative - South Caucasus FCO 
			 237 South Caucasus South Caucasus Expenses (Sir Fall) FCO 
			 238 Sri Lanka Multi Sector Dialogue/Consensus Building - NDI FCO 
			 239 Sri Lanka Radio Social Drama - Ya-TV (and Francis Rolt) FCO 
			 240 Sri Lanka Working with the Diaspora - International Alert and Berghof FCO 
			 241 Sri Lanka Access to Justice - The Asia Foundation FCO 
			 242 Sri Lanka Prevention and Response to Child Recruitment - UNICEF FCO 
			 243 Sri Lanka RCA South Caucasus FCO 
			 244 Sri Lanka Security Sector Development FCO 
			 245 Sudan PEACEKEEPING FCO and MoD 
			 246 Sudan Track II Workshop FCO 
			 247 Sudan Assessment and Evaluation Commission Chair FCO and MoD 
			 248 Sudan Peacebuilding Fund Transitional Areas FCO 
			 249 Sudan Analysis (Alex de Waal) FCO 
			 250 Sudan Joint Integrated Units MoD 
			 251 Sudan SUDAN PEACEKEEPING MoD 
			 252 Sudan English Language training for SAF and SPLA MoD 
			 253 Tel Aviv Economic Cooperation Foundation 09-10 FCO 
			 254 Tel Aviv PEACE NOW FCO 
			 255 Tel Aviv YESH DIN FCO 
			 256 Tel Aviv BREAKING THE SILENCE FCO 
			 257 Tel Aviv IR AMIM FCO 
			 258 Tel Aviv SMALL ARMS FCO 
			 259 Yemen CARE: REDUCING CONFLICT BETWEEN REFUGEES & COMMUNITIES FCO

Embryology

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many patient-specific human pluripotent stem cells have been derived in the United Kingdom by means of (a) direct reprogramming with Yamanaka's factors to yield induced pluripotent stem cells, (b) embryonic stem cell derivation following somatic cell nuclear transfer, and (c) traditional Chinese medicine; and what is the average level of funding per individual grant or principal investigator that they have provided towards each of those approaches, via the research councils or by other means.

Lord Drayson: The Government and the research councils do not collect information on the numbers of patient-specific human pluripotent stem cells that have been derived in the UK.
	The Medical Research Council (MRC) funds a wide spectrum of stem cell research supporting a range of approaches. This includes research on induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, some of which may involve the derivation of stem cells lines from patients to study disease using a range of technologies, including Yamanaka factors and subsequent developments. The MRC does not currently support any research which aims to derive patient-specific stem cells by human somatic cell nuclear transfer or through the use of traditional Chinese medicine.

Embryology

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord Drayson on 14 December 2009 (WA 178) and the letter by the chief executive of the Medical Research Council on 19 February 2010, whether the need for an additional year "to allow recruitment targets to be reached" reflects the willingness of women to provide eggs for human cloning research; and what measures have been proposed in that regard.

Lord Drayson: The Medical Research Council (MRC) granted a one-year extension to the University of Newcastle for the research project "Improving the Efficiency of Human Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer" so as to allow recruitment targets to be reached and the completion of the planned research. The MRC has also commissioned an independent study to investigate the views, values and experiences of potential donors in egg sharing for somatic cell nuclear transfer research; this study is due to end six months after the research project has been completed.
	It is expected that information relating to recruitment, including the experiences and views of potential donors will be reported in publications relating to the research project and the associated study. It would be inappropriate to speculate on issues that may, or may not, have had an impact on recruitment until all of the data collection and analysis has been completed, and research papers have been published.

Expenditure: Office Equipment

Lord Bates: To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the average purchase price, excluding value added tax, of a 500-sheet ream of white A4 80 gsm photocopier paper paid by the Office of Surveillance Commissioners in the latest period for which figures are available; and how much it spent in total on all photocopier paper in the last year for which figures are available.

Lord West of Spithead: I understand that the price is £1.62 per ream. The Office of Surveillance Commissioners estimates it spends some £200 a year on this type of paper.

Expenditure: Office Equipment

Lord Bates: To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the average purchase price, excluding value added tax, of a 500-sheet ream of white A4 80 gsm photocopier paper paid by Standards for England in the latest period for which figures are available; and how much it spent in total on all photocopier paper in the last year for which figures are available.

Lord McKenzie of Luton: Between 1 March 2009 and 28 February 2010 Standards for England spent a total of £1906.71 excluding VAT on A4 80 gsm paper for use in photocopiers. The cost per 500-sheet ream during the period 1 March 2009 to 31 May 2009 was £2.29. We changed supplier in June 2009 and from 1 June 2009 to 28 February 2010 the cost per 500-sheet ream was £1.74.

Expenditure: Office Equipment

Lord Bates: To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the total expenditure, excluding value added tax, on photocopier paper by the Charity Commission in the latest year for which figures are available.

Baroness Crawley: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Charity Commission. I have asked the commission to reply.
	Letter from Andrew Hind, Chief Executive, Charity Commission, to Lord Bates, dated 5 March 2010.
	During 2009, the Commission spent £9,527 (excluding value added tax) on photocopier paper. We use Evolve (100 per cent recycled) copier paper at our London, Newport and Liverpool offices, and a combination of EP4 (75 per cent recycled) and Evolve paper in our Taunton office. We will be only using Evolve in all our offices by the end of 2010.
	I hope this is helpful.

Expenditure: Office Equipment

Lord Bates: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Barbara Follett, on 9 December 2009 (Official Report, Commons, col. 390W), what was the average purchase price, excluding value added tax, of a 500-sheet ream of white A4 80 gsm photocopier paper paid by each of Communities and Local Government's (a) non-departmental public bodies, and (b) executive agencies, in the latest period for which figures are available; and how much each spent in total on photocopier paper in the last year for which figures are available.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the average purchase price, excluding value added tax, of a 500-sheet ream of white A4 80 gsm photocopier paper paid by each Regional Improvement and Efficiency Partnership in the latest period for which figures are available; and how much they spent in total on all photocopier paper in the last year for which figures are available.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the average purchase price, excluding value added tax, of a 500-sheet ream of white A4 80 gsm photocopier paper paid by each Government Office for the Regions in the latest period for which figures are available; and how much they spent in total on all photocopier paper in the last year for which figures are available.

Lord McKenzie of Luton: The average purchase and total spend on photocopier paper for the department's non-departmental public bodies, regional improvement and efficiency partnerships and government offices could only be established at disproportionate cost.
	However, the department's agencies have reported the following spend on photocopier paper:
	the Fire Service College, in the financial year to the end of January 2010, has spent on average £1.85, excluding VAT, on a 500-sheet ream of white A4 paper; and £5,180 excluding VAT on A4 paper in total;the Planning Inspectorate is currently paying £1.96 (ex VAT) for a ream of A4 paper. In the 2008-09 financial year it spent £32,175 on paper; andthe Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre spent £786 (ex VAT) last year with a unit price of £1.96 (ex VAT).

Falkland Islands: Oil

Lord Jones of Cheltenham: To ask Her Majesty's Government what licensing and taxation system will be put in place for the exploration for and production of oil around the Falkland Islands.

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead: A licensing system for exploration and production of oil around the Falkland Islands is already in place and is provided for in the Falkland Islands Offshore Minerals Ordinance 1994 (as amended) and the Falkland Islands Offshore Petroleum (Licensing) Regulations made thereunder. The taxation system relating to the exploration and production of hydrocarbons around the Falkland Islands is the responsibility of the Falkland Islands Government, who hold the requested information.

Falkland Islands: Oil

Lord Jones of Cheltenham: To ask Her Majesty's Government what proportion of revenues from licensing and production of oil around the Falkland Islands will be (a) retained by the Government of the Falkland Islands, and (b) transferred to the United Kingdom Government's overseas territories' budget.

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead: The natural resources of the Falkland Islands belong to the Falkland Islands. However, the Falkland Islands Government have previously offered to share some of any future hydrocarbon-related revenues with the UK Government and we will want to resume discussions on this issue should hydrocarbons be discovered in commercially viable quantities.

Government Departments: Consultancy Services

Baroness Warsi: To ask Her Majesty's Government how much the Department for Work and Pensions and its agencies spent on (a) public relations consultants, and (b) public affairs consultants, in each of the past three years; and for what purposes.

Lord McKenzie of Luton: The Department for Work and Pensions and its agencies have incurred expenditure on public relations (PR) and public affairs consultants in the past three years as follows:
	
		
			  2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 
			 Public Relations £1.097 million £1.2 million Not available 
			 Public Affairs Nil Nil Nil 
		
	
	Spend information is available for financial years rather than calendar years. Fully audited figures for 2009-10 are not available at this time.
	The department contracts with PR agencies when there is a clear case that the agencies' specific expertise and capacity will allow the department to be more effective in its communications, or to meet a defined communications need that cannot be met by in-house resource.

Government Departments: Illegal Immigrants

Baroness Warsi: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many illegal immigrants have been found to be working for the Department for Work and Pensions and its agencies in each of the past five years.

Lord McKenzie of Luton: People employed to work in government departments and their agencies, either directly or through a contractor, are required to satisfy requirements on identity, nationality and immigration status prior to the offer of employment.
	My department has no record of having employed an illegal immigrant in the past five years.

Government Departments: Staffing

Lord Greaves: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their forecast of the net saving or cost to public funds of redundancies of staff (as a percentage of the costs of employing them) (1) in the first year, and (2) in subsequent years, in (a) central government departments, (b) other government departments, (c) non-departmental executive agencies, (d) local authority salaried staff, (e) local authority manual workers, (f) NHS administrative staff, (g) NHS clinical staff, (h) other NHS staff, and (i) any other public sector staff for which estimates are available.

Lord Myners: Under the current spending review period departments are responsible for identifying and delivering their own efficiency savings. They are making progress towards the overall CSR 07 value-for-money target of £35 billion savings, although the Government have not set any specific headcount reduction targets for this period. Employment decisions are for individual public sector employers in light of their operational needs and budgets.

Government: Office Equipment

Lord Bates: To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the total expenditure, excluding value added tax, on photocopier paper by the Department for Transport in the latest year for which figures are available.

Lord Adonis: In the latest year for which figures are available, the Department for Transport spent £328,471 on photocopier paper. This figure excludes spend by the Vehicle Operator Services Agency, which could only provide the information at disproportionate cost.

Government: Office Equipment

Lord Bates: To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the total expenditure, excluding value added tax, on photocopier paper by the Ministry of Defence in the latest year for which figures are available.

Baroness Taylor of Bolton: In financial year 2008-09, the department spent £2.6 million, excluding value added tax, on paper for photocopiers and office printers. As the same type of paper is used for both purposes, I cannot provide a discrete figure for photocopier paper alone.

Health: Autism

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have assessed issues faced by adults with autism who are trying to access (a) the jobs market, and (b) benefits; and, if so, what plans they have regarding the situation in each case.

Lord McKenzie of Luton: The Department for Work and Pensions has not undertaken specific assessments of issues faced by adults with autism who are trying to access the jobs market and benefits, and have no plans to do so.
	Following the launch on 3 March of Rewarding and Fulfilling Lives: The Strategy for Adults with Autism in England (2010), the department will continue to work closely with other government departments, the Valuing Employment Now central delivery team, the National Autistic Society, and others to further improve the services available to customers with autism.
	The department does not have employment programmes that exclusively target customers with autism. Our programmes, including those provided to meet the specific requirements of disabled people, identify and aim to meet the needs of each customer, including people with autism. The department will continue to identify ways in which services can be improved to ensure that employment needs, including those of customers with autism, are effectively addressed within both established and new programmes.

Health: Autism

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have measures planned to increase the understanding of adult autism among employers (a) in the public sector, and (b) in the private sector; and, if so, when they will be implemented.

Lord McKenzie of Luton: As part of its Corporate Disability Employer Engagement Strategy, the department is working with partners led by committed employers from both the private and public sectors to deliver a toolkit, designed by employers for employers, to encourage and help them to recruit and retain more disabled people.
	Initial work on the toolkit content will be concluded by April 2010. We propose to finalise toolkit design work by autumn 2010 to be ready for consultation with employers and other stakeholders in order to build support and seek commitments to promote and share the information and advice contained in the toolkit, on a peer-to-peer basis.
	While not disability-specific, this initiative will advocate a more positive and proactive employer approach to employing disabled people. It will promote ways of bringing more employers together with disabled candidates and, backed up by appropriate advice, information and support, it should help more people with autism to get and keep paid work.

Immigration

Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have made an assessment of the reasons why British citizens have been refused entry to other countries; and, if so, what conclusions they drew.

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead: We have not made an assessment of the reasons why British citizens have been refused entry to other countries.